My trip to Venice, Italy

Good day friends.

Today’s post will be about Venice, which I visited back in April 2007. Of course, I had already heard and seen much about the city, mostly from TV. There was also a film that I liked, The Wings of the Dove (1997), that increased my desire to visit this place.

Venice is built on more than one hundred islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Accommodation is normally quite expensive near the center of the city, so I decided to stay at Lido, which is a bit further out from the center, but easily commutable with the public boats called vaporetti. In Venice the only ways of transport are vaporetti, traghetti, gondolas and water taxis (1).

I took an early flight to Marco Polo Airport, and then I shared a water taxi to my hotel at Lido. I remember passing by the St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) in the taxi, and seeing all these wonderful buildings in the morning sun. I felt that it was going to be a memorable holiday.

After I checked in at my hotel and unpacked, I took the vaporetto to Piazza San Marco. It was like Picadilly Circus, so many people everywhere.

St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco)

The magnificent building below is the St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco); known also by the nickname Chiesa d'Oro (Church of gold), it boasts some magnificent gold mosaics and many other treasures inside its walls (2) .

St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco)

The clock tower to the right of the Basilica is named the Torre dell'Orologio and has been ringing out the hours since 1499. The clock displays the time of day, the dominant sign of Zodiac, and the current phase of the moon. There is also a representation of the Lion of San Marco, the symbol of the city of Venice (3).

St Mark's Clocktower (Torre dell'Orologio)

The Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) lies to the left of the St. Mark's Basilica. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of Venice.

The Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale)

In St. Mark's Square there is also a bell tower, the St Mark's Campanile (Campanile di San Marco), which is open to the public, and gives spectacular views of the lagoon from its top.

Views of Venice from the top of St Mark's Campanile

I hope you like today's pictures. Next post will be more pictures about the churches and grand houses (palazzi) of Venice!

References
1.Text from http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_transportation.htm.
2.Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Basilica.
3.Text from http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/venice-clock-tower.php.